Printing techniques can be broadly categorized into two groups: analog and digital. Common analog techniques are offset lithography, flexographic, gravure and screen printing. Inkjet and electrophotographic printing are the most prevalent digital technologies. Digital printing has an advantage over its analog counterpart in that printed output can be digitally altered, meaning that every printed page can be different. To change the printed output of an analog printer, a new set of imaging plates or stencils must be produced. Digital printing methods are more cost effective at low run lengths (number of pages), whereas at large page counts analog printing may be more economical. Print quality is another vector of comparison between printing methods. Analog prints often have had superior image quality and typically have operated at higher printing speeds, but digital printing is approaching the quality and printing speed of analog printing with the advancement of printer hardware, printing inks and printing media.
Since the mid-1980s electrophotographic (EP) printing, commonly known as laser printing, has been a popular choice among consumers who demand high quality, professional looking printed communications. State-of-the-art commercial EP printers now have image quality that rivals lithographic offset printers.
Inkjet printers are now common and affordable and allow one to obtain photographic quality albeit at lower printing speed. They are used in home printing, office printing and more recently, in commercial printing. Key advantages for inkjet technology in the commercial printing market are that printing width can be easily scaled and high print speeds are possible.
Printing media used in digital printing have various affects on printing attributes such as printing quality, printer durability and reliability and printing speed that are important attributes to printer manufacturers and end users. The challenge for the manufacturers of printing media is to produce printing products that can maintain these printing attributes in an optimum status.
Certain examples have other features that are one of in addition to and in lieu of the features illustrated in the above-referenced figures. These and other features are detailed below with reference to the preceding drawings.